Microsoft,
on the other hand, is on much more tenuous footing, with its own
mobile market share in
shambles and its hopes solely pinned on this month's launch
of Windows Phone 7 (next month for U.S. customers). That
didn't stop its CEO Steve Ballmer from ripping into his Cupertino
rival in a recent
question and answer session with Ina Fried, writer
of CNET's "Beyond
Binary" column.

Mr. Ballmer replies,
"I think you clearly have a lot more variety than Apple has.
There's really only one choice in the Apple world. I think the
problem, if you don't have a minimum kind of standard […] the brand
means nothing to the user. Our brand means something to the user. It
means something to the developer. It implies a certain level of
consistency and high quality, which I think is important for the
Windows Phone."

Mr. Ballmer, who has in the past
derisively compared
Macs to Mac Trucks and said that Apple users pay
$500 extra for a logo, did begrudgingly admit that his fruity foe
is doing exceptionally well in the tablet sector. He comments,
"You certainly see more. You certainly see more than I would
like. One is more than I would like."

Despite recent
studies that show the iPad to be cannibalizing users' PC
time, Mr. Ballmer is confident that the tablet will not replace the
PC. He states, "Certainly someone who wants to sit and do
an interview and take notes and scroll around, they are unlikely to
find that device very comfortable. It doesn't stand up on its own. It
doesn't have a big screen and keyboard. I'm not taking anything away
from what Apple has done and certainly we have our work cut out for
us."

Mr. Ballmer refused to answer questions on how
Microsoft might match Apple's instant-on iPad capability and the
device's long battery life. He would only say that you would
see tablets "essentially
around the holiday", a little bit of an ambiguous statement,
to say the least. He was full of optimism and enthusiasm,
though, about Windows Phone 7.

After be docked
part of his bonus for the failure
of the Kin smartphone line, Mr. Ballmer is convinced the new OS
will be a hit with customers. He comments, "I think we're
moving fast. We've got to see how the market responds. I think we are
going to get great response to the new Windows Phones and that's the
key. If we get that done and we keep up the pace of good work that we
are doing, I feel pretty good."

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Premium vehicles are more often than not just that, premium. Do I really need to explain to you how close a Mac is to its PC bredrin? High end car manufacturers distance themselves with products that truly do cost more.

Any way you want to put it, Apple niche has more to do with good marketing than it does having a 'better product'. Perception is a powerful drug, anyone who knows about the underlying of Mac's and PC's know that the hardware behind it is essentially identical. Can you say the same when comparing a Ford to a Lexus?

Apple has a niche market, I'm not here to debate that, but your stupid analogies try and prove the worth of a Mac over a PC when such worth is artificial and does not really exist. Its a marketing spin, one that has worked amazingly and probably beyond anyones expectations, but a marketing spin at that.

quote: Do I really need to explain to you how close a Mac is to its PC bredrin?

Don't tell me that Lexus is light years away from Toyota, they are as close together as Macs and PCs are. See direct analogy here?

quote: High end car manufacturers distance themselves with products that truly do cost more.

Now you imply that Macs "not-truly" or "fakely" cost more, right? Please explain, I don't get it. How come something is TRULY costing more and something else is FAKELY costing more. What do you mean?

quote: Apple niche has more to do with good marketing than it does having a 'better product'. Perception is a powerful drug, anyone who knows about the underlying of Mac's and PC's know that the hardware behind it is essentially identical. Can you say the same when comparing a Ford to a Lexus?

Yes I can. If you think that your average ATX tower cheapo PC is exactly the same as expensive iMac, then I'll argue that Ford is exactly the same as Lexus. When you say that PC and Mac use same Intel CPUs with minor differences between them (clock frequency, cache, etc), I'll counter argue that in this case Lexus and Ford ALSO use same gasoline engines with minor differences (power, fuel consumption, etc). When you say that both Mac and PC have same cases with just a minor differences (shape, weight, materials, etc), I'll counter argue that Ford and Lexus ALSO have same bodies with minor differences (shape, weight, materials, etc). Got it?

quote: prove the worth of a Mac over a PC when such worth is artificial and does not really exist

That's subjective statement. For me BMW is a useless junk, I'd never buy one and will sell it immediately if somebody gives me one as a present. I consider SAABs the best cars overall, but I know this is subjective. For you the picture may be the opposite, you treat BMWs as the best cars ever and think that SAABs are junk for idiots. So why are you trying to persuade me to believe your SUBJECTIVE statements? I'm not going to have same taste in machinery/computers/cars/music/movies/books as you do, so why are you trying then?